Admiral Kizaru's Desperate Battle
Clang! Clang!
Bang! Bang! Boom!
The sounds of battle echoed across the frozen battlefield. The light was dazzling, and the metallic clanging seemed endless.
A fierce wind whipped across the ice, making it nearly impossible to keep one's eyes open. The sky filled with sword energy, fist impacts, and even laser beams that sputtered and poured out frantically.
The entire ice surface was being destroyed and collapsing, with a network of crisscrossing cracks spreading in all directions.
Wilhelm, in her moon lion form, had completely disappeared from the battlefield. Even the slashes she had unleashed vanished without a trace, thanks to her Clear-Clear Fruit ability.
Facing Wilhelm, who had begun using the power of the "Ten Rings" with her combat abilities fully activated, even Admiral Kizaru was struggling. His Observation Haki, which could only foresee the future for a brief moment, was proving inadequate.
Although his Observation Haki could sense the "breath" of attacks and targets, there were only a handful of people who could truly fight relying solely on it for extended periods.
Kizaru was clearly not among them—at least not yet.
Against Katakuri's relentless, all-out offensive, bloody cuts appeared one after another on Kizaru's body. Though his powerful Observation Haki and battlefield-honed instincts allowed him to narrowly avoid fatal blows, he couldn't completely block the attacks. His injuries continued to multiply.
"Tch—"
Clang!
Kizaru barely managed to block the invisible barrage of attacks, but his chest was left with a deep, bloody wound.
Before he could catch his breath—
Whoosh!
Without warning, dozens of frighteningly dense and fierce fist impacts suddenly appeared before him just as he had materialized.
"Ocean Hirasaka!"
A light shield materialized to protect him from the danger, blocking the attacks in front of Kizaru.
However, in the next moment, the dense barrage disappeared instantly, only to flash out from behind him, bombarding him mercilessly.
The attack was unbearably cold and completely unexpected.
Bang! Bang!
"What—?!"
With a contorted face, Kizaru vomited blood and was sent flying.
The Admiral of Marine Headquarters found himself in an unprecedented crisis.
Wilhelm was directly using her Clear-Clear Fruit's transfer ability to redirect Katakuri's continuous attacks from any angle and direction, launching the deadliest assault on Kizaru from positions impossible to defend against.
Swish!
"AHHH!" Wilhelm's transparent figure, completely invisible to the naked eye, was wielding her Cloud Cutter sword, which was entwined with terrifying powers of electricity, Haki, ghost energy, and demonic aura, giving it an extremely eerie appearance.
With lightning speed, she rushed forward.
One-shot Swallowtail Slash!
Kizaru, covered in blood, felt his hair stand on end. With his intense gaze, a scarlet flash appeared in his eyes as his Observation Haki desperately tried to foresee the immediate future.
Keng! Sparks flew everywhere.
The Heaven Piercing Cloud Sword collided with the Cloud Cutter.
In that instant, Kizaru, tightly gripping the Ame no Murakumo sword with both hands, narrowly blocked the strike.
Swish... Golden light shone as Kizaru instantly transformed into countless particles of light, attempting to escape tens of meters away.
He wanted distance.
However, Wilhelm had improved the electric shock technique passed down through generations of the Mink tribe, using continuous bursts of electric current to stimulate her cells to their limit.
With her combat strength elevated to its ultimate level, Wilhelm relied on her incredible speed and god-tier reaction ability, coupled with her exceptionally powerful Observation Haki, to instantly predict Kizaru's trajectory.
"Hah!" The incomparably sharp Cloud Cutter flashed before Kizaru could fully transform into his element.
Blood sprayed.
"WHAT—?!"
A scream echoed across the battlefield.
A bloody arm flew through the air.
Dazzling golden light appeared tens of meters away.
Kizaru, his face distorted with agony, was sweating profusely as he clutched the bloody stump where his left arm had been mercilessly severed.
He stared at the seemingly empty air before him with tears in his eyes.
"Charlotte Wilhelm!!!"
"?!"
"KIZARU!!"
At that moment, both Akainu, who was being completely overwhelmed by Big Mom at the peak of her power, and Aokiji, who was desperately fighting against four powerful warriors—Shiryu of the Rain, Ryuma the Swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, and Quetzalcoatl the Feathered Serpent—couldn't help but look over.
They all broke into cold sweats, their faces twisted with disbelief and anger.
None of them could believe their eyes.
As much as they didn't want to admit it, they couldn't claim they could completely suppress Kizaru, who was a fellow Admiral candidate.
Not only had he been utterly defeated, but his body was covered in shocking wounds, almost turning him into a bloody mess.
And now Charlotte Wilhelm had directly severed his arm.
"That damn kid! Her aura is stronger than it was a few months ago!" Akainu, who had been fighting Big Mom at a complete disadvantage, was alarmed, his heart filling with reluctant respect.
"Mamamamama~! This is the price you Marines pay for your self-righteousness and for daring to provoke me!" Charlotte Linlin, charging with Napoleon in her hand, was extremely proud. She grinned widely and declared, "As long as I have Wilhelm and Katakuri, the throne of the Pirate King will be mine sooner or later!"
Her words still hanging in the air, she brandished her flaming sword, surrounding Napoleon with dazzling thunder.
She slashed fiercely toward Akainu, whose expression changed as he prepared to fight seriously.
BOOM!
Massive amounts of magma erupted.
The molten rock collided violently with the enormous blade wrapped in Haki.
There seemed to be an invisible barrier between the two powers, constantly pushing and squeezing against each other...
BOOM!
WHOOSH!
Violent shockwaves accompanied by intense heat waves spread in all directions.
A large area of ice collapsed, the thick layer melting instantly.
But the confrontation between the two did not last long.
As Charlotte Linlin increased her power with a sneer—
"BIG MOM—!" Sakazuki yelled with an unwilling expression as he was sent flying.
Ice shards scattered and smoke filled the air.
Akainu crashed to the ground and rolled awkwardly, his body covered in long gashes.
The outcome between the two was clear.
In this part of the sea, though there was no formal strength hierarchy, those with overwhelming power were instinctively called "monsters" by most people who stood in awe of their might.
Setting aside those with insignificant power or unusual appearances that led uninformed people to call them "monsters"—a poor quality assessment—the true "monsters" were stronger than most powerful Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals and pirates with bounties ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of Berries. They held the advantage of crushing such opponents with ease.
Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji were such people.
Relying on their outstanding talents and the good fortune to obtain top-tier Logia abilities like the Magma-Magma Fruit, Glint-Glint Fruit, and Ice-Ice Fruit, they had quickly risen through the Marine ranks.
These three had gained fame in recent years, their strength steadily growing.
They were recognized by the vast majority of Marines as "monsters" with overwhelming power.
Thus, they were listed as Admiral candidates by Marine leadership, who believed they were qualified to serve as Headquarters Admirals.
But clearly, gaps existed even among monsters.
Ultimately, Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji were still too young compared to veteran powerhouses like Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Charlotte Linlin.
Their personal strength was far from reaching their life's peak, and much of their potential remained untapped.
While they might hold overwhelming advantages against other pirates and could easily crush them, when facing a natural monster like Charlotte Linlin, who had sailed the seas for decades, they were clearly outmatched.
If it had been Sengoku, the formidable Fleet Admiral, he might have been able to fight monsters like Charlotte Linlin for days and nights.
But Akainu was obviously not at that level yet.